Vanessa Gusmeroli
| Vanessa Gusmeroli | |||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Country represented | France | ||||||||||||
| Born |
19 September 1978 Annecy, France |
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| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||
| Former coach | Didier Lucine Stanislav Leonovich Katia Beyer |
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| Began skating | 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Retired | 2002 | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Vanessa Gusmeroli (born 19 September 1978) is a French former competitive figure skater and water skier. As a skater, she is the 1997 World bronze medalist and a three-time (2000–02) French national champion.
Gusmeroli was born on 19 September 1978 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France. She and French ice dancer Mathieu Jost are the parents of a daughter, born in 2009.
Vanessa Gusmeroli began skating at age seven in Annecy. She competed in both skating and water skiing until the age of 14, when she was advised to commit to one sport and chose her skating career.
Gusmeroli first drew international attention at the World Junior Championships in the fall of 1995, where she finished 5th overall. The French Figure Skating Federation sent her to the 1996 European Championships. She placed 6th in the short program, with a triple flip-double toe loop combination, but was 10th in the free skate, dropping her to 8th overall. At the 1996 Worlds in Canada, she finished in 14th place.
In her second senior season, Gusmeroli returned to her "Circus" themed free skate and used the music from the motion picture, "The Mask" for her short program. She represented the International team at The Continents Cup and finished 4th in the ladies portion. She also placed 4th at Trophée Lalique in Paris and won her first international medal a week later at The Nations Cup and her first medal at The French National Championships, a silver, in December 1996. Gusmeroli placed 2nd in the short program at the 1997 European Championships, but dropped to sixth overall after a difficult free skate. She was also second in the short program at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne and finished with the bronze medal after placing fourth in the free skate and third overall. It was her only podium finish at an ISU Championships.
Gusmeroli experienced ups and downs during the 1997-98 season. She won the bronze medal at Trophée Lalique behind Laetitia Hubert and Tara Lipinski. With a theme of "Water, Earth, Wind and Fire" for her free skate, she won a spot on the Olympic team by finishing third at the French National Championships, but was only 11th at the European Championship. At the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, a mistake in the short program cost her a chance at a medal, but she recovered with a strong free skate to finish 6th overall. With the added pressure to defend her bronze medal at the World Championships, she faltered and finished in 16th place.
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